Continuous heating-furnace.



PATUNTED AUG. 9, 1904.

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J. RBULEAUX. CONTINUOUS HEATING PURNAUB. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30, 1904.

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l'. REULBAUX. CONTINUOUS HEATING FURNAGE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30, 1904.

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glnuanfoz pmu @traumas UNITED STATES Patented August 9, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEF REULEAUX, OF VILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIG-NOR TO ALEXANDER LAUGHLIN, OF SEWICKLEY, PENNSYLVANIA.

CONTINUOUS HEATING-FURNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,243, dated August 9, 1904.-. Application filed January 30, 1904. Serial No. 191,320. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it mtl/y concern:

Beit known that I, JOSEF REULEAUX, of IVilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Continuous Heating-Furnaces; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

In that class of continuous heating-furnaces of the type embraced by Letters Patent of the United States, Reissue No. 11,666, to Alexander Laughlin and myself, dated May 31, 1898, the slabs or billets just before their discharge from the furnace pass adjacent to the fuel-ports or point of highest heat. Preferably, for many reasons, the fuel or heating medium -is introduced through ports over and above which the slabs or billets have to travel as they are about to leave the furnace, such ports extending from a supply-chamber beneath or in the bottom of the furnace. It is well known that cinders will fall from the slabs or billets into the fuel-ports and lodg'e therein as well as in the supply-chamber. To prevent such cinders, whether in a dry or a fluid state, from 4interfering with the free passage of the fuel and to enable them to be readily removed without the necessity of putting the furnace out of use is thev primary object of the present invention.

A further object is to keep the gases or products of combustion away from the charging-opening and also to minimize the quantity of cold air that may be drawn in at that point by the draft of the stack; and a further object is to provide improved means for thoroughly heating the air before it intermingles with the gas for combustion purposes.

The invention will be hereinafter fully set forth, and particularlypointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying' drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a continuous heating-furnace equipped with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on line 9. 2. Fig. 3 is a similar view on line 3 3. Figs. 4 and 5 are vertical sectional views on lines 4 4 and 5 5, respectively. Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 6. All the sections are taken on Fig. 1. Fig. 7 shows a slight modification in the location of the air and gas ports. Fig. 8 shows in plan a series of fuel-ports. Fig. 9 is a section thereof on line 9 9.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the bed of the furnace, having raised supports 2 for the bearings 3 for the slabs or billets, which bearings extend longitudinally of ythe combustion-chamber from the charging-opening 4 to the discharge-opening 5, the arrangement of the bearings being such as to provide for the automatic discharge of the slabs or bil-` lets from the point of'highest heat, as set forth in said Reissued Letters Patent No. 11,666.

Opening into the combustion-chamber beneath the inclined portions 6 of bearings 3 is a fuel-port 7, ,and into lthisv at opposite sides open a gas-port 8 and air-port 9. The fuelport 7 forms at a point beneath the entrance of ports 8 and 9 a pocket 10 for the accumulation of cinders. or in a iiuid state, may be removed from the pocket either through openings l2 in the side walls of the furnace or through tap-holes 13 in the bottom, in which event they will fall into a car or other receptacle 14, preferably y movable transversely of the furnace on tracks l5. Thus it will be seen that while preserving all the advantages of having the fuel-port opening into the com bustion-chamber beneath the line of discharge of the billets I am enabled to insure the free passage of the fuel and at the same time provide for the collection and ready removal of the cinders without interfering with the operation of the furnace. The gas-port 8 leads from a lower supplychamber 16, which is out of vertical line with y port 7. Both the gas and air ports are preferably equipped with parallel dividing-Walls 17 (see Fig. 6) to insure the thorough intermiXing of the gas and the air, the walls of one port being arranged in line with the spaces between the `walls of the other port.

The cold air enters through pipes 18 into a These latter, whether dry chamber 19 beneath the furnace, at or near the discharge end thereof, and thence passes into an air-heating chamber 20 and out into the end of air-port 9 at the receiving end of the furnace, such air-port being' carried from the discharge to near the receiving end beneath the furnace-bed and above the air-heating chamber. Within this latter are preferably placed air and gas conduits constructed and arranged after the manner contemplated by my Letters Patent No. 742,740, issued to me October 27,

1903, the operation differing, however, from1 that set forth in said patent in that the air travels in opposite direction to the travel of the outward gases. The latter pass from the combustion-chamber into the chamber 21 at the receiving end of the furnace and travel through the continuous gas-conduits 21a to the smoke-flue 22. The cold air in its passage through chamber 20 is caused to travel up and down by spaced-apart solid walls 23 and by the time it enters the receiving end of port 9 is thoroughly heated. It will he noted that the dividing-walls 17 in the air-inlet port eX- tend rearwardly from a space 24 in the hori- Zontal portion thereof, the remaining portions being' divided by partitions 25, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

VThe raised supports 2 for the bearings 3 are not continuousthat is, they are spaced apart to form openings 26 (see Figs. 1 and 3) to permit the gases to pass from above the billets to the under side thereof in their travel to the end chamber 21, and thus to heat the billets more thoroughly on the under side, where most needed on account of the cold-water pipes composing the bearings 8. p

Preferably the roof of the furnace is formed in two sections 27 and 28, after the manner contemplated by Letters Patent of the United States No. 672,381, issued to Alex. Laughlin April 16, 1901, to the end that the portion embraced by section 28 will, as pointed out in said patent, constitute the preheating-chamber. To avoid the waste gases in this chamber from injuring the door 29, controlling' the charging' or receiving opening, or at least to lessen the damage done thereby, and at the same time to minimize the quantity of cold air that may be drawn in at this point by the draft of the chimney, 1 place a deiiector 30 over the upper end of gas-outlet chamber 21, such defiector being preferably in the form of a plate or flat arch extending from the charging-opening' inwardly to and partly over the first set of raised supports 2. By this means the downward passage of the gases from above the line of slabs or billets is effected at a point some distance inwardly from the charging' or receiving' opening, with the result that the volume of the heat against door 29 is lessened and the quantity of cold air that may be drawn in bythe gases passing' downwardly into chamber 21 is minimized, thus enabling' me to preserve the full heating eapacity of the waste gases and avoiding' undue cooling of the same as well as of the preheating-chamber by the inrushing cold air.

1t is understood, of course, that in carrying out my invention the slabs or billets are pushed along the bearings from the receiving to the discharging' end after the manner contemplated by said Reissued Letters Patent No. 11,666, that the discharge of each slab or billet is automatically effected at the point of highest' heat by means independent of the pushing mechanism, and that the slabs or billets after leaving the furnace fall onto a suitable eonveyer.

Changes may be made in the construction and relative arrangements of parts, instances of some of which are shown in Figs. 7, 8, and 9.. 1n Fig. 7 1 have shown the air and gas ports opening into the fuel-port at different levels. In very wide furnaces in lieu of a single fuel-port cross-walls divide the fuelpassage into a series of ports, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the cross-walls being marked 31 and the ports 32. These cross-walls prevent the long side walls of the fuel-passage from caving' in when expanded under high heat. It is obvious that other changes may be made without departing' from the scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention 1. A continuous heating-furnace provided witlrreceiving and discharge openings, bearings for a line of slabs or billets extending from the receiving-opening to the dischargeopening, and having' inclined portions, a fuelport opening into such furnace at a point beneath and intersecting said inclined portions, a einder-pocket in line with the entrance of such port into the furnace, and means opening into the port intermediate the upper end thereof and said cinder-pocket for supplying fuel to said port.

2. A continuous heating-furnace provided with receiving and discharge openings, bearings for a line of slabs or billets extending from the receiving-opening' to the dischargeopening' and having inclined portions, a fuelport opening into such furnace at a point beneath and intersecting said inclined portions, a cinder-pocket in line with the entrance of such port into the furnace, and air and gas ports opening' into such fuel-port at points above said cinder-pocket.

3. Acontinuous heating-furnace provided with receiving and discharge openings, bearings fora line of slabs or billets extending from the receiving-opening to the dischargeopening and having' inclined portions, a fuelport opening into such furnace at a point beneath and intersecting said inclined portions, a cinder-pocket in line with the entrance of such yport into the furnace, means for removing the cinders from such pocket, and means IOO IIO

opening into said port above said supplying fuel thereto.

4. A continuous heating-furnace provided with receiving and discharge openings, bearings for a line of slabs or billets extending' from the receiving-opening to the dischargeopening and having' inclined portions, a fuelport opening' into such furnace at a point beneath and intersecting' said inclined portions. a cinder-pocket in line with the entrance of such port into the furnace, air and gas ports opening into such fuel-port at points above said cinder-poclet, and openings in the sides of the furnace above the cinder-poclet.

5. A continuous heating-furnace provided with receiving and discharge openings at opposite ends of the furnace, bearings fora line of slabs or billets extending from the receiving pocket for to the discharge openings, a fuel-supply portv at the discharge end of the furnace, a gas-outlet chamber at the receiving end thereof, and a deflector located above said chamber and between it and the receiving-opening and eX- tending into the furnace some distance in advance of the gas-outlet chamber, as and for the purpose set forth.

6. A continuous heating-furnace provided' with receiving and discharge openings at opposite ends of the furnace, bearings for a line of slabs or billets extending' from the receiving to the discharge openings, a door for said receiving-opening, spaced-apart supports for said bearings, a fuel-supply port at the discharge end of the furnace, a gas-outlet chamber between the receiving end thereof and the first of said spaced-apart supports, and a deflector located above said gas-outlet chamber', and extending' from said receiving-opening inwardly to the first set ofV supports, as and for the purpose set forth.

7. A continuous heating-furnace having'a gas-outlet chamber at one end, a smoke flue or stack at the other, an air-heating chamber intermediate said gas-outlet chamber and smoke-flue, Vgas-conduits connecting said gasoutlet chamber with said smolie-tluasaid airheating chamber having a lower supply-inlet at 0r near one end, and an upper outlet at or near the other end, whereby the air will travel longitudinally and diagonally through sa'id air-heating chamber from one end to the other in opposite direction to the outfiowing gas.

8. In a continuous heating-furnace having receiving and discharge openings at opposite ends, a fuel-port at the discharge end, and a gas-outlet chamber at the receiving end, an air-heating chamber beneath said furnace, gasconduits located within said air-heating chamber and forming communication between said gas-outlet chamber and the smoke-flue, means for supplying air to said air-heating chamber at the discharge end of the furnace, and an air-port opening into said fuel-port and leading from the end of the air-heating 'chamber at the receiving end of the furnace, the air in its travel passinglongitudinally andl diagonally through said air-heating chamber, as set forth. v

In testimony whereof I'have signed' this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEF .REULEAUX- Witnesses:

F. CHARLES HERGET,

G. A. CONNER. 

